Kindhands comes from my heart and I am reminded everyday that a little bit of kindness goes a long way to making someone else feel good! Kindhands is based on ‘what the parents need’ by offering them the support of a team who ‘just know what to do’ in looking after their child. My commitment to this centre is just that- making sure the families journey is the best that it can be!
The name “Kindhands” comes from my son, right from the start he didn’t fit inside the “norm.” When my son started kindergarten, he had a teacher aide called “Lindy”. The thing that stood out about Lindy is that she really liked our son and to me that was very special. Lindy used to tell our son remember to use your “Kindhands” and the way she said it was so gentle but she reminded him at every opportunity to use his “Kindhands”.
When our son was 4 years old, we left Auckland to come back to Whangarei to be closer to family. On leaving his kindergarten to move to Northland Lindy gave our son a beautiful book. Inside the cover of the book was a photo of her with our son both with huge smiles and a heartfelt message which included “Thank you for always remembering to use your kind hands” This experience as a parent has never left me and 14 years on, we still have that book with that beautiful message.
My words of advice would be “your child can be ANYTHING they want to be, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, I believe in you!
Ngā mihi nui
Sharlene Clements